Child Custody in Hawaii

Legal terms of art and the best-interest standard

Hawaii Family Courts use two custody categories. Legal custody is the authority to make decisions about a child's health, education, and welfare. Physical custody is the child's living arrangement and time-sharing schedule. Either type can be sole or joint.

HRS § 571-46 sets the governing standard. Custody is to be awarded according to the best interests of the child, without preference for either parent based on sex. The statute directs the court to consider several factors: the wishes of the child's parents, the wishes of the child if the child is old enough and capable of reasoning, the child's relationship with parents, siblings, and other significant people, the child's adjustment to home, school, and community, and any history of domestic abuse.

Hawaii law also allows a Family Court to award custody to someone other than a parent, such as a grandparent, when doing so serves the child's best interest and the circumstances support it.

Where and how a custody case starts

File a custody action in the Family Court of the circuit where the filing party or the child is domiciled. Hawaii has four family court circuits covering the islands: First Circuit for O'ahu, Second Circuit for Maui, Moloka'i, and Lana'i, Third Circuit for the island of Hawai'i, and Fifth Circuit for Kaua'i and Ni'ihau. Custody tied to a divorce is raised inside the divorce complaint. Unmarried parents generally file a standalone custody or paternity action once parentage is established. In a contested case, the Family Court can order an investigation or appoint a custody evaluator from the court's Child Custody Evaluators Registry. The evaluator assesses the family and makes recommendations to the judge.

Parenting arrangements and mediation

Hawaii Family Courts commonly use mediation and court-connected conciliation services to help parents reach agreement on custody and visitation before a contested hearing. Individual circuits maintain their own family court mediation programs. Whether mediation is required in a specific case depends on the circuit and the judge assigned.

Hawaii does not have one statewide statute requiring every custody case to produce a formally titled 'parenting plan' document. A written custody and visitation agreement submitted for the court's approval serves the same function in practice, and some circuits use their own parenting-plan templates. There is likewise no statewide law mandating a parenting class in every case. Individual circuits, most notably O'ahu's Family Court, have offered parent education programs for divorcing or separating parents with minor children.

Changing a custody order later

To modify an existing Hawaii custody order, the parent seeking the change generally must show that circumstances have changed since the last order in a way that affects the child's best interest. The court then reapplies the HRS § 571-46 best-interest analysis to the family's current situation. A modification request is filed in the same Family Court case that produced the original order. The court can order a new custody evaluation if the circumstances warrant one, before deciding whether to change the existing arrangement.